Another night and another big upset not involving Michigan State in the Big Ten.
Illinois had another rough night and took a 21-point loss to Maryland at home. Illinois lost because they had 16 turnovers, shot 21% from three on high volume, and gave up *62* points in the paint. Yikes. With four losses, my simulation now has their odds to at least share a Big Ten title down to just 5%. The problem for the Illini is that there is a 72% chance that at least a record of 16-4 will be needed to hang a banner this year. There is barely a 1% chance that Illinois will run the table. They are officially on life support in the Big Ten race.
Here is my updated Big Ten odds table:
The Big Ten race is rapidly turning into a three-team race, and two of those team square off in West Lafayette tonight as Michigan faces Purdue. I fulled expect Purdue to come out pissed off and rag-doll the Wolverines, but I guess we will see what happens. Michigan seems to have boosted some of their metrics by blowing out bad low-major teams in the non-conference. Efficiency-wise, the Wolverines have been a little shaky in Big Ten play and certainly have not looked great over the last week. They have three guys that play A LOT of minutes and Big Ten coaches now have more film on Dusty May. I expect the Wolverines to fade a bit in February.
Is that wishful thinking on my part? Sure. Is it also a very reasonable possibility? Also sure.
As always, make sure to check out the updated odds and stats tracker for all the data you never knew you needed.
Illinois had another rough night and took a 21-point loss to Maryland at home. Illinois lost because they had 16 turnovers, shot 21% from three on high volume, and gave up *62* points in the paint. Yikes. With four losses, my simulation now has their odds to at least share a Big Ten title down to just 5%. The problem for the Illini is that there is a 72% chance that at least a record of 16-4 will be needed to hang a banner this year. There is barely a 1% chance that Illinois will run the table. They are officially on life support in the Big Ten race.
Here is my updated Big Ten odds table:
The Big Ten race is rapidly turning into a three-team race, and two of those team square off in West Lafayette tonight as Michigan faces Purdue. I fulled expect Purdue to come out pissed off and rag-doll the Wolverines, but I guess we will see what happens. Michigan seems to have boosted some of their metrics by blowing out bad low-major teams in the non-conference. Efficiency-wise, the Wolverines have been a little shaky in Big Ten play and certainly have not looked great over the last week. They have three guys that play A LOT of minutes and Big Ten coaches now have more film on Dusty May. I expect the Wolverines to fade a bit in February.
Is that wishful thinking on my part? Sure. Is it also a very reasonable possibility? Also sure.
As always, make sure to check out the updated odds and stats tracker for all the data you never knew you needed.
